NOVA Police Participate in Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics

April 22, 2024 / ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)

Again this year, the NOVA PD again partnered with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office for the annual Virginia Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run 5K walk and run. The Loudoun County Sherriff’s Office run, held on April 17, raised over $4,000 for the Special Olympics. Loudoun County deputies, along with NOVA Police officers, shared this experience with Loudoun Valley High School, which has hosted the run for two years in a row.  

More than 40 law enforcement deputies and officers participated in the 5K event, and over 200 local public school students and faculty joined in as well. The run concluded with the torch being passed by law enforcement deputies to a Special Olympics athlete who lit a cauldron to signify the official start of the event.

The Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics engages law enforcement personnel worldwide who champion acceptance and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities, starting first with the local community. 

The idea for the Special Olympics movement began in the 1950s and 1960s, when Eunice Kennedy Shriver saw how people with intellectual disabilities were treated unjustly and decided to take action. The movement was spurred on by love for her sister, Rosemary, who had an intellectual disability, and her family’s love of sports. Kennedy Shriver saw how sports brought all types of people together and could be used as a vehicle for change. She began by hosting camps at her home. Special Olympics was officially incorporated in 1968 and held its first international competition at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

Special Olympics Virginia’s mission is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-style sports for persons with intellectual disabilities, giving them regular opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

NOVA PD runners line up beneath an inflatable blue "finish line" emblazoned with the words, Guaridans of the Flame, Special Olympics and Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Virginia. From left to right in the photo: Officer Mark Achacoso, Lieutenant Matthew Borders, Lieutenant Tony Ong, Chief, William J. Jacoby, Sergeant Samuel Souligne, and Officer Kevin Fuentes.
Pictured left to right: Officer Mark Achacoso, Lt. Matthew Borders, Lt. Tony Ong, Chief William J. Jacoby, Sgt. Samuel Souligne and Officer Kevin Fuentes.

 

Submitted by:
Lt. Tony Ong, NOVA PD, TOng2@nvcc.edu